Tradition
by Manu259
Summary: Even if you missed it a few times, some traditions are worth picking up again. (Spoilers for the manga)
1. Tradition

**Tradition**

**Hello and welcome to another one-shot.**

**First of all: SPOILER ALERT IF YOU'RE NOT UP TO DATE WITH THE MANGA. (Chapter 173 at the time this was posted)**

**Consider yourselves warned.**

**This takes place after the fight against Muzan and the demons inside the demon fortress.**

**It can be considered a continuation of my first fic for this fandom 'Visiting the fallen' but it can be read on its own as well.**

**Without further ado, I hope you enjoy.**

**On with the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kimetsu no Yaiba.**

* * *

As he walked along the new headquarters of the demon slayer corps, Tanjiro couldn't help but notice how similar it was to the previous one, if it wasn't for the fact that he was present when the old one exploded he would think that it was the same one.

'I see what they mean by the headquarters been well hidden.' He thought, remembering how he had to travel to get here.

Similar to when he was taken to the village of the blacksmiths, several kakushi kept exchanging him after making sure he was blindfolded and that the ear and nose plugs were placed correctly.

The major difference was that every once in a while, he was left in what he can only assume is a box inside a train that another kakushi will open and retrieve him from. He counted this process been repeated five times before the final kakushi placed him down, removed the objects that blocked three of his five senses and told him to follow a crow's indications for the final stretch.

While he was remembering his strange journey he had made it to a replica of the garden he was brought to back when everyone first found out about Nezuko.

"Oh, Tanjiro!" Someone called out.

"Uzui-san!" Tanjiro said as he waved at the retired pillar. "How have you been?"

"Can't complain, retirement life suits me." The 'god of festivities' replied. "That's not to say that I don't keep myself in shape, I am still the most flamboyant around these parts."

"Ah, Tanjiro-kun." Someone else said his name and he turned to see a pink haired woman waving at him.

"Kanroji-san." He waved back and felt a chill down his spine when he saw the snake pillar, Iguro Obanai, glaring at him. The two must have been talking as he was standing near Kanroji.

Aside from them, most of the pillars and other people that were invited were there.

The wind pillar, Sanemi, seemed to be having an argument with Giyu, although the latter just kept a blank face and…

'Oh, Giyu-san is offering him ohagi.' Tanjiro noticed as he picked up the scent of the bag the water pillar was holding. 'They should be able to get along better with this.'

While he thought that the younger of the Shinazugawa brothers seemed to be trying to stop the older one from starting a fight.

Himejima was standing near the three while praying, probably in case things get out of hand.

The only pillar that wasn't present was Tokito Muichiro, since Tamayo was still tending to his wounds.

Aside from them there was also the former flame pillar Rengoku Shinjuro, Kyojuro's father.

"Is this everyone?" Tanjiro asked the former sound pillar.

"Nope, we're still waiting for three more people, they should get here soon enough."

Almost as if on cue, everyone felt a presence quickly rushing towards them.

"Alright, I'm first-" Inosuke stopped mid-sentence as he saw every person there, his masked face turned to Tanjiro. "Oi, how did you make it before me, Tanpachiro?!" He yelled and got up in his face.

"I just followed the kakushi's instructions." He replied calmly.

After Inosuke, two more people showed up.

"Ah, Zenitsu, Kanao." Tanjiro called out.

The blond looked at him before starting to tremble at having every pillar's attention momentarily on him while the tsuguko to the late Insect Pillar Shinobu didn't seem bothered and simply smiled back as a way of greeting, they were both wearing their usual uniforms with the exception of an eye patch over Kanao's left eye, the damage to that eye was worse than the one done to her right one so Tamayo said that it would take a bit longer for it to heal.

"This should be everyone, right?" The love pillar asked.

"They are." A new voice called out from the house.

Almost everyone immediately formed a line and kneeled to greet the new leader of the Demon Slayer corps.

Dressed similarly to his father and flanked by his two sisters, Ubuyashiki Kiriya walked forward and sat in seiza in front of everyone.

"Who the heck is the kid?" Inosuke asked, been one of the two that didn't immediately kneeled.

Zenitsu was the other one but had quickly followed the others' example and now looked at the guy with the boar mask as if he was crazy.

Well, crazier than usual.

"He is the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps." Tanjiro answered him.

"Huh?! That kid?!"

At this point, more than one pillar seemed ready to teach Inosuke a lesson; he was the son of the man they all respected and appreciated and proved himself capable of the position he now holds during the battle at the demon fortress so if Inosuke didn't stop with the comments soon-

"It's fine." Kiriya said. "I just got my position, I won't expect everyone to just accept it." He looked at the teen with the boar mask. "Can I ask that you listen to what I have to say? You are free to go afterwards."

Everyone looked at Inosuke, to hear his answer.

"Okay, sure." The Hashibira said and sat cross-legged.

"Thank you." With that, the leader of the demon slayer corps moved his sight towards everyone. "And I thank you all for coming in such short notice, I called out this meeting for a few reasons, first; to appoint new pillars at the currently empty seats."

The current pillars all looked at the ones that aren't ones at this, guessing why they were there.

"Tsuyuri Kanao." The black haired girl looked up at him. "You were already next in line to take the place of the late Insect Pillar, I am only sorry that you take the place because of her passing." Kanao nodded with a sad smile. "That been said, you have more than earned your place by contributing to the defeat of Upper Moon Two, are there any objections to her taking the place?"

No one raised their voice.

"Then I hereby appoint you as the new Flower Pillar."

"Thank you." The girl answered with a nod.

"Next, Hashibira Inosuke."

"Huh?" The aforementioned said.

"While not a Tsuguko you were also instrumental in the defeat of Upper Moon Two, not only that but it is my understanding that you developed your 'Breath of the Beast' on your own without even knowing about Full Focus Breathing, for that as well as your service prior to the most recent fight, I'd like to offer you a place as a Pillar, do you accept?"

"…" The usually loud teenager stayed silent and stared at the kid half his age before letting out a laugh and stand up with his arms akimbo. "So you recognize that I am one of the strongest, hahaha." He then turned towards his red haired friend. "Did you hear that Monjiro? I became a pillar before you."

"Good for you, Inosuke." The Kamado said sincerely.

"Actually." Kiriya called out. "Kamado Tanjiro, I would also like to offer you a place in the pillars."

Inosuke immediately stopped laughing.

"Ugh, I still became one before you, just so we're clear." The breath of the beast user said while pointing at his friend.

"Yes, that's true." Tanjiro answered with a nod before returning his gaze at the head of the Demon Slayers.

"Before I continue, any objections about adding Hashibira Inosuke into the Pillars?"

Unlike Kanao, some of them seemed a bit put out by the idea but they couldn't deny his achievements so in the end they stayed quiet.

"Then I hereby appoint you as the new Beast Pillar."

Inosuke crossed his arms and one could almost feel the grin behind his mask.

"Now then, Kamado Tanjiro." He looked towards him. "I'm certain that most if not everyone here is aware of your accomplishments but just to list some of them, you participated in the battle against Upper Moon Six and dealt the final blow along with Agatsuma Zenitsu and Hashibira Inosuke with the help of the former Sound Pillar Uzui Tengen." Kiriya nodded towards each of them as he spoke. "Then helped in the defense of the Blacksmith Village and dealt the final blow against what was then Upper Moon Four. During the battle at the demon fortress you, along with the Water Pillar Tomioka Giyu, defeated Upper Moon Three. Finally, while you were unable of finishing off Kibutsuji Muzan, you rescued Tamayo-san and she has been invaluable in the treatment of our injured members, including but not limited to, the Mist Pillar Tokito Muichiro." The head finished his summary. "For all this reasons, I would like to offer you a place as a pillar, do you accept?"

"Yes." Tanjiro answered.

"Are there any objections? And the fact that his sister was turned into a demon and he didn't kill her isn't acceptable as one since she never hurt any humans, not to mention that she may become human again any day now."

As he said the last part, Sanemi and Obanai closed their mouths, since they were about to voice that exact complaint.

"Then it's official, there is something I'd like to ask you though." Tanjiro raised his head to meet his eyes. "What do you want your title to be? The seat of Water Pillar is already occupied and you use your Dance of the Fire God more than you Water Breathing."

The newly appointed pillar thought for a second before looking towards Shinjuro.

"If it's okay, I'd like to inherit Rengoku Kyojuro's title."

Kiriya nodded and looked towards the father of the aforementioned.

"Would that be acceptable?"

"…I'm sure Kyojuro would be happy." He answered with a small smile.

"Then it's settled, you'll be known as the Flame Pillar."

Tanjiro nodded.

"Now, Agatsuma Zenitsu." The Breath of Lighting user yelped at hearing his name. "I'll be blunt, while you have achievements rivaling Inosuke and Tanjiro your… personality is a bit of an issue." The ones that know the guy couldn't help but sweat drop at that. "I don't expect everyone to act the exact same way but having a pillar that seems as reluctant as you to go into battle could be detrimental for the moral of the Demon Slayers, I would have offered you a place as a pillar as well if it wasn't for that."

'No, no, no, I don't care about being a pillar, I'm completely fine where I am thank you very much.' Zenitsu thought.

"That been said, your achievements speak for themselves and if thrown into battle then, like I said before, you have accomplished feats rivaling that of the newly assigned pillars so I hereby grant you the rank of Kinoe."

The blond paled at hearing that.

'Higher rank, more difficult missions… ahh, Gramps I'll meet you soon.' While he thought that he simply nodded, not wanting to go on one of his tirades in front of the other pillars since he doesn't know how they'll react to that.

"Finally, Shinazugawa Genya."

"Yes."

"You're another person that has achievements rivaling that of pillars and I thought about offering you a place as one but… your method of fighting could cause trouble among other Demon Slayers, not to mention that some may try to imitate you thinking that this would let them grow stronger quickly, so like Agatsuma Zenitsu, I'll give you the rank of Kinoe instead."

"…I understand." Genya answered, holding in a sigh.

"Thank you." Kiriya said with a nod. "Now, onto the second point and the reason why the two former pillars are here." Tengen and Shinjuro perked up at hearing this. "I wish to continue the training that was put in place prior to the most recent battle but I know that pillars are busy and can't afford to keep that training at all times so I'd like to ask you two to become the trainers instead."

The two former pillars exchanged a look.

"Do you mean you want us to teach them our Breath Styles?" The former Flame Pillar asked.

"No, just the basics of full focus breathing, your respective styles are more or less unique to yourselves so others would have a hard time learning them, to say the least." He answered. "If you see some Demon Slayers that you believe could learn them and want to teach them, then by all means go ahead but it would be foolish to expect every Demon Slayer to learn your two Breath Styles."

"In that case, I accept." Uzui said.

"As do I." Shinjuro followed.

"Thank you." The head said. "Next, about Kibutsuji Muzan." The entire placed was suddenly filled with killing intent but they managed to reign it in after a second. "He managed to escape along with Upper Moon One and Upper Moon Four but we have undoubtedly land the biggest blow against him since the Demon Slayers were formed, not only that but we also know about his fortress now so we can tack it down."

"Hmm…" Kanroji raised her hand. "But isn't Upper Moon Four capable of teleporting everyone around."

"I thought that as well, but no." Kiriya answered, signaling to one of his sisters and she took a report. "This is a report by Kamado Tanjiro after he faced a demon that had a similar ability to that of Upper Moon Four, do you remember?"

"Yes." Tanjiro answered with a nod.

"According to your report, the demon was able to make the rooms spin as well as teleport them around." One of Kiriya's sisters said. "While Upper Moon Four is ability was clearly stronger the similarities lead us to conclude this, that fortress is located somewhere, it isn't just an isolated space."

"The reason for this is that the house that was the territory of the demon Tanjiro faced was, from the outside, a normal looking house, so it stands to reason that the space of Upper Moon Four is similar to it."

"So you want us to track down the place and storm it?" Inosuke asked suddenly, earning more than one annoyed look.

"Essentially, yes, but if anyone finds it then I want them to retreat and call the rest of us." The seriousness in his tone at the next words seemed out of place in someone his age. "I can't stress this enough but do _not_, under _any_ circumstances attempt to attack the place alone. It is almost certain that aside from Upper Moon Four, Upper Moon One will be there and I don't think I need to explain just how difficult it was just to make him retreat during the last battle."

The ones that fought him couldn't help but shiver as they remembered their battle.

"If anyone wishes to bring up a topic, please do so now, if not I'll continue to the last reason for this meeting." Some exchanged looks to see if anyone wanted to say something but no one raised their voice. "Then I'll go to the last point; as I mentioned before I believe we have dealt the greatest blow against Muzan since the creation of the Demon Slayers but the battle was not without its casualties and injured and since New Year is approaching, I believe you have all earned a break." The kid smiled sadly at this. "To be honest, the break is also for me… I wish to prepare the funerals for my family."

Everyone who knew the previous head grimaced, a few even let out some tears at the remainder while others bit their lip to the point it draw blood.

Taking a deep breath, Kiriya continued.

"I'll let you know if there are any urgent missions but other than that, you are all free to relax until New Year, after that." Once again, the serious expression on the eight year old seemed incredibly out of place due to his age. "We will hunt Muzan down and finally end this long battle."

"Yes!" Everyone answered in unison.

"That is all, I thank you once again for coming here in such short notice, the meeting is adjourned."

With that, Kiriya left the garden and walked back inside the house, flanked by his two sisters.

Everyone stood in place until the doors were closed before getting up and leaving the headquarters.

* * *

After the meeting, Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Inosuke and Kanao all made their way back to the Butterfly State.

Inosuke quickly began running around bragging about how he became a pillar while Zenitsu kept murmuring something about 'higher rank, higher risk of death' the entire way until he reached his room and locked himself in there.

"Those two never change." Tanjiro thought out loud with a chuckle before turning to Kanao. "By the way, I'll be going for a while."

"Eh?" The black haired girl turned to see him and blinked.

"There is… somewhere I want to go… now that we have a few days off." The newly appointed pillar said.

"To your sister?" Kanao asked.

"There too but first… to my old home." He answered. "I haven't been there in a long time."

"… I see." Was the only thing she could think of saying. "When will you leave?"

"Tomorrow, there is something I want to get and… things I wish to tell my family." Even a blind person would have noticed the sadness in his expression as he said the last part. "Anyway, I just wanted to give you a heads-up, I'll be leaving first thing in the morning so I probably won't be able to tell everyone."

"It's alright, I'll tell the others."

"Thanks." They made some more small talk before Tanjiro retired to his room.

Kanao stared at the door for a moment before nodding to herself and walk away.

* * *

The next day.

Tanjiro quietly closed the door of the Butterfly State but before he could make take a step, Kanao jumped over the wall and landed next to him.

"Kanao?" The swordsman asked, surprised at her sudden appearance.

"Tanjiro…" The girl shifted in place a bit before taking a deep breath. "Can I go with you?"

"…eh?"

.

.

So now, the two were going together to Tanjiro's hometown.

It was a rather quick trip thanks to the use of full focus breaths. They took a few breaks every now and then to rest and eat but other than that they continued traveling at a speed that made any passerby they encountered wonder if they were seeing things.

.

.

Soon enough, they made it to the forest that led to Tanjiro's old house.

"There is a lot of snow." Tanjiro commented absentmindedly. 'It was like this on that day as well.'

"Is it not the usual for this area?" Kanao asked.

"Yeah, it used to be difficult for me to walk between my house and the town when there was too much snow." He answered.

The black haired girl was about to say something else but stopped, seeing the slight difference between his usual bearing and his current one.

'He must not want to talk right now.' She concluded. She didn't know exactly what happened to his family but since his sister was turned into a demon and he mentioned having other siblings before, it wasn't hard to put two and two together.

They walked the rest of the way in silence until they reached a somewhat small house.

Tanjiro stopped walking for a moment to look at his old home with a fond look before taking a deep breath and walk again.

Kanao followed him in silence until they reached the back of the house and grimaced at seeing the graves there, five in total.

The swordsman simply kept walking forward and kneeled in front of them while the newly appointed Flower Pillar kept some distance and simply looked.

"Hi… sorry for not visiting before I… have been busy." Tanjiro began, forcing down a lump in his throat. "Nezuko is getting better, any day now she will turn back into a human, I…" Kanao heard a sob and couldn't help but flinch. "I've gotten stronger and we, the Demon Slayers, almost managed to defeat Muzan." He continued after taking a deep breath, trying to force his voice to come out evenly.

He wasn't successful.

"I know you don't want me to apologize, you would say that it wasn't my fault I wasn't here when he attacked, that I couldn't have known and that I would have ended up dying if I was but… is it okay if I apologize anyway?" A few tears began to spill in the snow below him as he said the last part.

Before he could force himself to say anything else, Tanjiro felt someone hug him from behind.

"It's okay." Kanao said softly. "It wasn't your fault and I didn't know your family but from everything you've said… I'm sure they would accept your apology anyway."

The red haired teen gritted his teeth and let the tears fall freely from his eyes.

.

.

A few minutes later, Tanjiro sniffed and used his sleeve to wipe away the remaining tears from his face.

"Thank you, Kanao." He said quietly.

"Don't mention it." The swordswoman answered with a small smile before letting him go. "…do you mind if I ask their names?"

Tanjiro smiled fondly and pointed to one of the graves.

"Our mother was called Kie." He began. "My siblings' names were, from oldest to youngest, Takeo, Hanako, Shigeru and Rokuta." With each name he pointed to a different grave. "I'm the oldest, followed by Nezuko." The swordsman finished before standing up. "This is Kanao, a friend of mine and another member of the Demon Slayer Corps." He said while gesturing to the girl with his right hand.

Said girl fumbled a bit trying to decide what to do at the sudden introduction, she settled for bowing in greeting.

"I'll come back to visit again, it may take a while since we'll be busy after New Year but I'll make sure to make the time." He placed his hands together in prayer and Kanao did the same, after they finished Tanjiro led the way inside his old house.

The inside was more or less the same as when he was last here, the blood had long since dried and some animals seemed to have been using it every now and then but aside from that and the accumulated dust and dirt, it looked more or less the same.

After looking around for a moment, Tanjiro walked towards what used to be the main room, opened the closet there and smiled as he saw a large chest there, seemingly untouched.

"What's that?" Kanao asked curiously.

In response, Tanjiro opened the chest and showed its contents, there were what looked like ceremonial clothes inside, with red been the prominent color, present in the shirt and hat, the latter had some black at the side and the pants were white.

"These were the clothes my father used to perform the Dance of the Fire God." He explained. "I loved watching him dance, he was a sickly person with a weak constitution but… when he danced, he looked like he could go on forever." Tanjiro remembered fondly.

"He must have been a nice man." She said with a smile of her own.

"He was." The swordsman nodded in agreement. "We were coal burners so it was a tradition to offer the dance to the fire god to ward off injuries and disasters… we didn't have many things but after everything that happened, I wanted to retrieve his clothes. It's a good thing no one took them."

"…are you going to perform the dance yourself?" The Flower Breath user asked.

"Eh?"

"I mean, you said that he did it every year and New Year is coming so…" She explained, while looking away with a blush.

"…I'll think about it." Tanjiro answered while looking at the clothes inside the chest.

Giving it another fond look, he closed it and held it up.

"Let's go back."

Kanao nodded in agreement.

The two exited the house and began to walk back.

"_You are a great child, Tanjiro_."

The swordsman suddenly turned back.

"…is something wrong?" Kanao asked, looking back as well.

"…no." He answered her before smiling. "Everything's fine." He said turning to her.

The black haired girl looked at him and smiled back before they resumed their walk back to the Butterfly State.

* * *

**And done.**

**Well, this was a fun thing to write, I hope you enjoyed.**

**One quick thing, I am not certain as to the exact date in the Kimetsu no Yaiba universe but considering that there were four months between Rengoku'd death, another two months until Tanjiro woke up after the fight against Upper Moon Six and the things before and after the two events, I think saying that New Year is approaching should be somewhat accurate.**

**I could be wrong though but I like the idea so I'll just leave it like this.**

**Anyway, once again I hope you enjoyed.**

**Until next time.**


	2. Dance

**Dance**

**Hello again.**

**Honestly, I didn't plan on continuing this, it was meant to be a one-shot but since I got positive reviews and someone 'extremely recommended' (their words, not mine) that I continue, well here you go.**

**Once again, spoilers for the manga (chapter 174 at the time this was posted). Consider yourselves warned.**

**Without further ado, I hope you enjoy.**

**On with the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Same as last chapter.**

* * *

Sitting in seiza, Tanjiro took a deep breath to try and soothe his nerves.

Honestly, he found it almost laughable that he was this nervous, he has fought demons on regular basis since passing the Final Selection, has had more than one close encounter with the Grim Reaper and threatened what was possibly the most dangerous creature in the face of the Earth to its face, twice, and yet he was having a hard time maintaining his composure over something that, by comparison, seemed trivial.

A few days ago.

Tanjiro and Kanao had returned to the Butterfly State and were almost immediately greeted by Aoi at the door. The new Flower Pillar had told her where they were going so the others wouldn't worry.

"Welcome back." Aoi said as they entered.

"We're back." Tanjiro greeted back while Kanao nodded and smiled at her.

"Is that chest the thing you wanted to get?"

"Yes, I'll go put it in my room now." The red haired teen answered. "I'll see you two later." With those words, he began to walk to his room.

"A letter came for you yesterday; I left it in your room." Aoi said before Tanjiro could go too far.

"Thanks."

.

.

The Kamado entered his room, well to be exact it was the room the members of the Butterfly State were lending him since he didn't have other place to go. He _could_ stay at one of the inns that accept Demon Slayers but they had offered him a room first and he didn't see a reason to decline.

After leaving the chest at the foot of his bed, he saw the letter Aoi had mentioned resting in his nightstand so he took it, opened it and began to read it.

His eyes widened as he read the contents, he had to re-read it twice just to make sure that his eyes weren't deceiving him.

Immediately after his third read, he let the letter fall from his hands and ran out of the room, subconsciously using the improvised version of Zenitsu's lighting breathing to accelerate further.

He made it back to the entrance where Kanao and Aoi were still talking.

The two girls turned to him but he simply rushed past him.

"Was that Tanjiro?" Aoi asked, confused at his sudden appearance.

She wouldn't get an answer, though, since Kanao had immediately ran after him, Aoi quickly did the same thing. She didn't have to go far, though, since after leaving the entrance of the Butterfly State she saw the two frozen in place, staring at two figures approaching.

One was a man with white hair, wearing a blue haori and a Tengu mask while the other-

"Nezuko!" Tanjiro called out.

For that one moment, everything stood in place, not even the wind seemed to dare make a sound as everyone stared at the younger Kamado.

"Good morning, Onii-chan!" She said back, her voice clear and without any stutter or difficulty that the others had grown accustomed to.

In a blink, Tanjiro closed the distance and stood in front of his sister.

"A-are you alright, does anything hurt?" He asked rapidly as he kept looking her over. "Are you…?"

"I'm human again." She answered with a smile, she opened her mouth to show her teeth, with no fangs visible and her nails were no longer claw like, her eyes had also turned from bright pink to a deep red, more exactly, they had turned _back_ to a deep red, her pupils were no longer slit and her hair that used to fade to orange at the end was completely black and tied into a bun.

There was another moment of complete silence before Tanjiro hugged his sister.

"You're human!" He cheered with tears falling from his eyes. "Y-You are-"

"Yes, I'm human." She repeated, returning the hug, tears threatening to fall from her eyes as well. "Thank you, Onii-chan, for not giving up on me."

And with that, the proverbial dam broke and the two became sobbing messes as they hugged each other.

Urokodaki, Kanao and Aoi simply watched with smiles in their faces, not wanting to interrupt them.

"Hey, what's the commoti- IS THAT NEZUKO-CHAN?!" Of course, that was the moment that Zenitsu decided to see what all the noise was about. "Nezuko-chan-guh." The blond had tried to run at them but Aoi grabbed him from the back of his haori before he could take two steps and pulled him to the ground.

"Let them have their moment." She hissed, resisting the urge to yell at him.

"Eh, but-" Just when she thought Zenitsu was about to start one of his tirades he went quiet. "…she is human again." He whispered.

"You can tell?" The girl holding him back asked, honestly surprised at his statement.

"Yes, she doesn't sound like a demon anymore." The breath of lighting user answered before smiling. "Good for them."

"Hey, why is everyone yelling?!" Before Aoi could say anything back, Inosuke appeared and the moment he noticed the siblings he ran towards them. "…is that your sister Gonpachiro? Something feels different about her."

The Kamado siblings let out a small chuckle and wiped their tears before turning to him.

"I am human again, nice to meet you Inosuke-san." Nezuko answered him.

"…I see." He looked her over. "Good, I'm glad that my underling is back to norm-" He couldn't finish the sentence as Zenitsu suddenly appeared in front of him and punched him.

Aoi stared at the blonde and noticed that she was just holding Zenitsu's yellow haori.

"She is not your underling you pig!" The blond yelled. "And why are you approaching so nonchalantly, I wanted to be the first to greet Nezuko-chan, don't try to get a lead on me!"

"What?! You want to go, you bastard?!" Inosuke yelled back, ready to charge at him.

The glaring contest was interrupted by Aoi moving between them.

"Seriously, now is not the time!" She yelled at the two with arms akimbo.

"But the pig-"

"That basta-"

"Not. The. TIME!" She repeated. "Nezuko-san turned back into a human and she doesn't need to see you two fighting when she just reunited with her brother, so give it a rest!"

"…yes, ma'am." Zenitsu said meekly while Inosuke huffed but otherwise stayed quiet.

"Hehe, sorry about that." Tanjiro said to Nezuko with a chuckle.

"It's fine." She assured him. "But let's go, I want to introduce myself properly to everyone."

The older Kamado nodded before looking at his master.

"Do you want to come too, Urokodaki-san?"

The masked man looked at the two for a moment before nodding.

"Alright, let's go."

The next hour or so was spent with Nezuko meeting every member of the butterfly state plus Zenitsu and Inosuke.

She still remembered them from the time she was a demon but she could barely hold a conversation at the time so she felt it was only proper to re-introduce herself to everyone.

Zenitsu, as expected, immediately tried to court her, or what he thinks passes as such. At one point, Tanjiro moved between them when it looked like Zenitsu was getting too close for comfort and all but dragged him away.

Inosuke was his usual self but it seems that endless patience was a family trait, as Nezuko didn't show the slightest hint of annoyance at how he kept asking to fight her, even after explaining that she is no longer a demon and she can't fight. This time, Tanjiro had to physically drag the dual wielder away when he had lunged at her. He ended up having to head-butt him so he would calm down, he held back so Inosuke didn't end up unconscious.

The 'butterfly triplets', Sumi, Kiyo and Naho, were a breath of fresh air, they each introduced themselves and the four got along almost immediately.

Aoi, likewise, was polite and it looked like they would get along well, the same could be said for Kanao.

As the time passed, Aoi mentioned that she had to get started with dinner, Nezuko immediately asked if she could help.

The blue eyed girl had refused at first, saying that she was a guest but Nezuko insisted saying that she wants to cook again and Aoi couldn't refuse after hearing that.

.

.

"This looks delicious." Zenitsu said as he eyed the food.

Everyone was sitting together at the table for dinner and Aoi and Nezuko sat down to eat everyone chanted 'thanks for the food' and began eating.

"By the way, Onii-chan." Nezuko called out, earning her brother's attention. "Why did you seem so surprised to see us? Didn't Urokodaki-san send you a letter saying that we would be coming here and that I was human again?"

"Oh, I was out yesterday, I just saw the letter earlier today and I immediately rushed to meet you halfway, you just ended up arriving before I could take three steps from here." Tanjiro explained.

"Where did you go?"

"…home." The red haired teen answered after some hesitation.

The jovial mood in the table sobered somewhat as everyone looked at the siblings.

"I went to visit their graves and to get the clothes for the Dance of the Fire God." He explained.

"…I see." Nezuko said downcast.

"So that's where you went." Inosuke mentioned, still eating with gusto. "Aoi mentioned that you and Hanao went out but couldn't tell us where."

"Can't you have some tact for once?" Aoi asked in exasperation, more to herself than others.

"Excuse me, what are the clothes for the Dance of the Fire God?" Sumi asked curiously.

"Ah, our father used to offer the Dance of the Fire God to ward off disasters and injuries." Nezuko explained with a fond smile. "It was amazing, he had a weak constitution but when he danced he looked like he could go on forever."

At this, Kanao let out a giggle, earning the younger Kamado's attention.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just that Tanjiro explained it in a similar way." She answered.

"Oh yeah, why did you go with Tanjiro anyway?" Zenitsu asked.

"I…I just didn't think he should be alone when he went there." The Flowe Pillar answered.

"Thank you, Kanao." Tanjiro said with a smile.

The black haired girl nodded and muttered a 'you're welcome'.

'Eh, what's this? What's with this atmosphere?' Zenitsu thought, noticing the interaction.

"So you're going to perform the Dance of the Fire God in New Year?" Kiyo asked.

"I'd like to see it." Naho added.

"W-well…" The older Kamado trailed off nervously.

"I'm sure you would do great, Onii-chan." Nezuko supported.

"I'll admit I am a bit curious about it myself." Urokodaki said, talking for the first time since introducing himself to everyone.

"Maybe we could invite Kanroji-san too?" Nezuko thought out loud, remembering the time when the Love Pillar played with her back in the blacksmith village. "She seemed like a nice person."

"Wait, I didn't say I would do the Dance of the Fire God, though." Tanjiro cut in.

"Eh, you won't?" The 'butterfly triplets' asked in unison.

"Why not? It's just a dance." Zenitsu asked.

Inosuke just kept eating, not really caring either way.

"Everyone wants to see it, Onii-chan, right Kanao-san?" Nezuko asked the newly appointed pillar.

"I… I would like to see it too." She answered with a blush.

Seeing everyone, except Inosuke, looking at him Tanjiro could only sigh in defeat.

"Alright." He conceded. "We'll have to get a few things ready."

"I'll alter the clothes, they probably won't fit you since you're not as tall as Dad was." Nezuko declared.

"I need to get some torches." Tanjiro thought out loud.

Soon, everyone was talking about how to make the 'performance' a success.

* * *

And that brings us back to the present with Tanjiro sitting in his room in the Butterfly State and the clothes for the Dance of the Fire God laying on top of his bed.

'How did it end up like this?' At first, he wasn't too nervous about it, sure he had never performed the dance (fighting demons with it did not count for him) but it would just be a few people watching, he could handle that.

How wrong he was.

Like Nezuko had said during that dinner, she invited Kanroji to come as well, which was fine, one more person won't make that much of a difference and he got along well with her so there was no issue.

But the Love Pillar had taken it upon herself to invite _every other pillar_, somehow convincing them to come, as well as the new head of the Demon Slayers and his two sisters.

It hadn't stopped there either, word got around and some other Demon Slayers like Murata, some Kakushi and even a few people from the Blacksmith village would be in attendance as well.

So the 'few people' soon turned into an audience.

Letting out a sigh, Tanjiro took a deep breath and hit his face with both hands twice.

'Alright, all I can do now is do my best.' He thought, nodding to himself.

After all, he was great at putting in effort.

.

.

'Nezuko did a great job.' Tanjiro thought as he moved around in the clothes for the dance, sans the hat.

Like his sister had said, she had to alter them so he could wear them properly and they wouldn't get tangled since he wasn't as tall as their father was yet.

A knock on the door distracted him from his thoughts.

"Onii-chan, can I come in?"

"Yes." Tanjiro called out and his sister opened the door, her head peeking inside.

She had to blink a few times as she caught sight of his brother.

"You look just like dad." The younger Kamado said with a smile that his brother reciprocated. "Everyone is waiting, are you ready?"

Taking another deep breath, Tanjiro put on the hat, put down the paper so it would cover his face and nodded.

"I'm ready."

* * *

At the backyard of the Butterfly State.

'I didn't think so many people would be in attendance.' Kanao thought, looking around the place.

Some of them weren't that surprising like a few of the Demon Slayers and Kakushi as well as people like the former Sound Pillar and his wives.

But how Kanroji had managed to convince people like the Wind Pillar and Snake Pillar to come she will never know, they didn't strike her as the type to be interested in something like this.

'Then again, before meeting Tanjiro I didn't really paid attention to them.' The Flower Pillar thought, smiling at the memory.

Other people in attendance included Kyojuro's younger brother, Senjuro, Tamayo and Yushiro as well as a bedridden Tokito Muichiro; they had placed down a futon in the porch so the Mist Pillar could watch the performance.

"So when will Tonjiro appear anyway?" Inosuke asked, eating a rice ball with his mask covering the upper half of his face.

"Nezuko-chan went to get him." Zenitsu answered him, sitting in seiza and holding a shamisen* with an uncharacteristically serious expression.

Almost as if on cue, the door of the house opened and Nezuko and Tanjiro walked out.

"Sorry for the wait." The two said.

Nezuko then went to stand near Kanao, Zenitsu and Inosuke while Tanjiro moved to the middle of the garden where a circle of torches had been set and were already lit.

"Do your best, Tanjiro-kun!" Kanroji encouraged him.

Sadly, instead of calming him, that only made him more nervous as he felt the glare of a certain 'snake' on him.

Taking a deep breath, he nodded towards Zenitsu who began to play the instrument.

His father hadn't had someone to play the instrument for him when he performed but the tune was written down in a book inside the chest where the clothes were and Zenitsu had declared that he would be able to perform it perfectly the second Nezuko mentioned 'it would be nice if someone could play it'.

As the music continued Tanjiro assumed his stance with the ceremonial sword and began his dance.

'Dance of the Fire God, Waltz.' He thought as he brought down his sword. 'From Waltz to Blue Heaven.' The red haired teen then moved in a circle keeping the sword parallel to the ground.

Everyone stood in place while watching him, almost as if entranced by his performance as he continued going through each of the forms, ending by jumping in the air spinning in place and performing a slash in mid-air while upside-down.

'The Setting Sun.' He thought as he landed back on the ground.

He then began again from the beginning.

"Breath of the Beast, Eight Fang." But just as he was about to go from Waltz to Blue Heaven. "Pig Assault." Inosuke suddenly rushed in, his swords drawn and poised to strike.

"What the-" No one could react in time since no one expected someone to suddenly try to attack.

But contrary to what everyone expected, Inosuke didn't attack Tanjiro, he simply rushed past him and struck the air as if hitting an invisible enemy.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Genya yelled what everyone was thinking.

"What?" Inosuke asked as he jumped in the air and started to cut in all directions but still not hitting Tanjiro.

"Why did you suddenly attack?" Iguro asked somewhat suspiciously.

"I didn't attack, I just took him up on his invitation." The masked teen answered as he performed an X slash with his two swords.

"Eh, invitation? What invitation?" Kanroji asked, voicing everyone's confusion.

"Everything in that dance was telling me to join in, so I did." Inosuke said as if it was obvious, this time performing a horizontal slash with his blades.

Everyone else exchanged looks at that statement but then they realized something, even when Inosuke rushed in Tanjiro hadn't stopped his dance, Zenitsu did stop playing for a moment but he was back at it again the second he noticed that Tanjiro was still moving and that Inosuke wasn't actually attacking the red haired teen.

"Then we can join in?" The Love Pillar asked with a smile.

"Feel free." Tanjiro called out to anyone who wished to dance too.

Letting out a squeal Kanroji unsheathed her sword, grabbed Iguro's hand and dragged him along to join in the dance.

.

"Oi, don't think for a second that you're leaving me out of this." Tengen said with a wide smile as he grabbed his sword from under his clothes. "Come on, you three come as well." He said to his wives, they looked somewhat reluctant but after a gentle push from their husband they ended up joining him.

.

Himejima, who was standing near Tamayo, Yushiro and Muichiro looked with a fond smile.

"Aren't you joining?" The Mist Pillar asked with a similar expression.

"I'm not sure it is my place to do so." He answered.

"Then… can I ask you to take mine?" The Rock Pillar looked at his younger comrade and nodded before also taking his weapon and joining.

"I am sorry I can't let you join as well." Tamayo said.

"It's fine." Muichiro answered. "I'll just enjoy the show, maybe I can join next year."

That brought a smile to the Demon's face.

'Tamayo-sama's smiling face is so beautiful.' Yushiro thought before also been entranced by the improvised dance.

.

"Don't you want to go too?" Urokodaki asked his successor.

"…it's not really my thing." Giyu answered while leaning against a wall.

"_Then why don't you go instead of me, Tomioka-san?_" The Water Pillar widened his eyes but didn't show any other reaction, he didn't even move his head towards where he heard that voice.

'You always loved to try to get a rise out of me.' He thought with a small smile as he moved away from the wall and walked towards the others.

Urokodaki raised an eyebrow under his mask at the sudden action but didn't question him, simply smiled and enjoyed the sight.

.

"…are you joining, Nii-san?" Genya asked.

"Why would I join that idiot festival?" The Wind Pillar asked back.

"Oh… alright." The younger Shinazugawa said simply.

"…damn it, you're coming too!" With those words, Sanemi dragged his brother along with him.

.

Kanao and Nezuko watched as almost every Demon Slayer in attendance began to join the Kamado in his dance.

"I didn't think it would end up like this." The former Demon thought out loud with a smile. "Aren't you joining, Kanao-san?"

"I… I'm not sure how to join." She admitted somewhat shyly.

"I'm almost certain that no one else did and look at them." Nezuko answered and gestured to everyone.

She couldn't explain it but instead of getting in each other's way, they all somehow complimented each other's dances with Tanjiro standing in the middle at the circle of torches.

"…do you think Tanjiro would mind?" The Flower Pillar asked.

"He told everyone to feel free to join, I'm sure that includes you." The younger Kamado said immediately.

Taking a deep breath to soothe her nerves, Kanao nodded, thanked Nezuko and also moved to join.

"And you, Zenitsu-san?"

"Someone has to play the instrument." The Breath of Lighting user answered, comfortable in his current position.

Nezuko simply smiled and nodded.

.

Tanjiro was genuinely surprised as he saw everyone joining one after another, the few that didn't have a Breath Style of their own following the steps of the ones that did and somehow no one was getting in each other's way.

Even Sanemi seemed to be enjoying himself.

He just finished his fourth set of forms when he saw Kanao standing in front of him, her sword drawn.

Smiling beneath the paper he prepared his own sword and the two began dancing.

Like everyone else, they didn't get in each other's way and at some point everyone began to change dance partners with each other in tandem with Tanjiro going from one form to the other.

By the time he was using the 'Setting Sun' to finish his tenth repetition he was back with Kanao and the Flower Breath user performed a similar technique, jumping in the air and spinning her body.

As gravity momentarily brought down the 'mask' covering Tanjiro's face, Kanao saw a smile that she would swear looked as bright as the sun.

The two fell back to the ground a moment later and at the same time Zenitsu played the last note, signaling the end of the dance.

No one said anything and, for a moment, everyone stood silent but that silence was soon filled by the sound of applause coming from everyone in the audience.

Everyone took it in a different way, some seemed to revel in the praise, some thanked everyone repeatedly, some tried to look indifferent but without a doubt, in that one moment, everything was right in the world, there were no demons, no Muzan, no fights.

Everyone was simply happy.

* * *

As much as everyone enjoyed it, the festivities had to come to an end eventually.

"Well, that was a lot more eventful than I thought it would be." Tanjiro said, he was still wearing the ceremonial clothes except for the hat that laid at his right.

"True, I don't think anyone expected that to happen." Kanao agreed.

The two were sitting at the backyard after everyone had retired for the night.

Most people had returned to their respective homes or rooms, save for a few people that lived too far away and took a room in the Butterfly State to spend the night.

Tanjiro and Kanao had stayed in the garden to put down the torches and clean up, Nezuko had stayed too but called it a night when her brother saw her yawn and insisted that she should go rest.

"Did it really feel like I was inviting the others to join like Inosuke said?" The red haired teen asked.

"Hmm… I'm not sure." Kanao answered. "If I'm honest I was too… entranced, I think would be the right word, to notice something like that."

"Entranced?" He repeated.

"Yes, I… I just couldn't tear my eyes away."

"I-I see." Tanjiro said a bit sheepishly. "That was probably the way I felt when watching my dad dance."

The two then stayed in comfortable silence as they watched the moon when an idea popped in Tanjiro's head.

"Hey Kanao." The girl turned her head and saw the red haired teen stand up with the ceremonial sword in hand. "Want to dance?" He asked with a smile.

"Eh? You mean now?" He nodded 'yes'. "…alright." The Flower Pillar answered after some hesitation.

Tanjiro's smile widened and he moved to grab his hat-

"Erm." But stopped when he heard Kanao mumble.

"Is something wrong?"

"…could you… not wear the hat?" The black haired girl asked, not meeting his eyes.

"I… don't really mind but why?"

"…ce…"

"Hm?"

"I… want to see your face while we dance." She managed to say before turning her head away with a blush.

Tanjiro couldn't help but blush at her words but managed to regain his composure after a moment.

"Alright." He said, leaving the hat resting in its place and moving near the now unlit torches with Kanao in tow.

The two took a bit of distance, faced each other, took a deep breath and began dancing.

All the while wearing wide smiles.

* * *

**And done! For real this time! …maybe!**

**Okay, just to clarify two things.**

**Shamisen*: It's the instrument we see Zenitsu playing at the beginning of the Red Light District Arc, when he, Tanjiro and Inosuke are infiltrating the different houses and it's mentioned that due to his superhuman hearing he can play it with ease.**

**About him playing for the Dance of the Fire God, there is nothing indicating that there was any music involved in canon but I liked the idea so I went with it, plus it gives him an excuse to not join the dance and stay with Nezuko, something that I believe he would definitely want to do, haha.**

**Alright, I think that's it, once again I hope you enjoyed.**

**Until next time.**


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